Daily Current Affairs 17 June 2026

Union Minister JP Nadda has launched nationwide celebrations in New Delhi to mark the 10th anniversary of the PM Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA), under the theme "10 Years of PMSMA: A Decade of Care".

Launched in 2016 by PM Narendra Modi, the PMSMA provides free, comprehensive, and quality antenatal care services to pregnant women on the 9th day of every month. During the event, the minister released a special ₹75 commemorative coin and a ₹5 postage stamp. Nationwide campaigns are being conducted to encourage pregnant women to avail the 9 assured free antenatal care services offered under the scheme.

Ashok Leyland and Switch Mobility have partnered with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways as the first Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to offer discounts under the New Delhi-NCR vehicle replacement scheme.

The scheme, with an outlay of ₹9,585 crore, aims to replace over 2 lakh old commercial vehicles. Under this initiative, the companies are offering an 8% discount on the ex-showroom price of eligible new trucks and buses.

Indian Railways has approved the installation of the ‘Kavach’ automatic train protection system on the balance Broad Gauge sections of the Ambala Division (Northern Railway), spanning 811 route km at a cost of ₹201 crore.

Additionally, it has approved the installation of ‘Kavach’ Version 4.0 on 598 route km across 48 block sections of the Ahmedabad Division (Western Railway) in Gujarat, at a cost of ₹140 crore.

Varanasi becomes the first Indian city to be integrated under the “Easy Connect” model, a hub-and-spoke aviation framework launched by the Government of India.

Spearheaded by Air India, the initiative aims to transform non-metro cities into key starting points for global travel.

According to the “Global Economic Prospects” (GEP) report released by the World Bank (WB) in June 2026, the economic growth projection of India for FY27 has been raised to 6.6%, a 10 basis points (bps) increase from the previous forecast of 6.5%.

The GDP of India is projected to grow by 6.6% in FY27, moderating from an estimated 7.7% in FY26, and is expected to accelerate to 7.2% in FY28.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has signed an MoU with the Njord - Center for Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage of the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen to conduct an underwater archaeological project.

The project aims to locate and document the remains of the historic Danish ship ‘Oresund’. It is to be noted that the ‘Oresund’ was the first Danish ship to reach India.

The Digital India BHASHINI Division (DIBD) has signed an MoU with the Government e Marketplace (GeM) to launch the “BHASHINI for Seva/Sanchalan - A BHASHINI Sahayogi Program”.

The initiative aims to strengthen multilingual digital capabilities across the public procurement ecosystem of India by leveraging the BHASHINI Platform.

According to the ‘Second Advance Estimates of Horticulture Crops for 2025-26’ released by the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (DA&FW), the total horticulture production is projected at 3,777.76 lakh tonnes (LT) across an area of 301.51 lakh hectares (ha). This indicates a 1.90% rise in production and a 0.05% increase in area compared to 2024–25.

Fruit production is estimated at 1,214.75 LT, reflecting an increase of 3.25%. Vegetable production is projected at 2,210 LT (a 1.47% growth) across an area of 118.79 lakh ha, which is an increase of 0.75%. Onion production is estimated to remain stable at 307.37 LT, while the area under cultivation is expected to rise by 2.31% to 20.14 lakh ha.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has released the National Family Health Survey – 6 (NFHS-6). The survey was conducted during 2023-24 by the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) in Mumbai, which served as the nodal agency.

The survey covered 6.79 lakh households across 715 districts in all States and Union Territories (UTs), excluding Manipur. It focuses on 101 major indicators to provide a comprehensive snapshot of health and demographic trends across India.

The DRDO has successfully conducted the flight-test of the indigenous Long Range Land Attack Cruise Missile (LRLACM) from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island, off the coast of Odisha.

All sub-systems of the missile were developed by various DRDO laboratories and Indian industry partners, with the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) in Bengaluru serving as the nodal laboratory for the project.

Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) and Airbus SE have successfully completed the first test flight of India’s first domestically manufactured Airbus C295 military transport aircraft from the Final Assembly Line in Vadodara, Gujarat.

This marks India’s first large-scale private-sector military aircraft programme, executed under a Ministry of Defence contract worth ₹21,935 crore. The contract involves the supply of 56 C295 aircraft to the Indian Air Force, with deliveries scheduled between 2026 and 2031.

This initiative aims to modernise the transport fleet of the IAF by replacing the ageing Avro-748 fleet and phasing out the Antonov An-32 aircraft.

Platinum Jasmine A 2018 Trust, an investment vehicle backed by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), has announced plans to reduce its 2.3% stake in Lenskart Solutions Ltd through a block deal.

Nuvama Wealth Management Ltd has received final approval from the SEBI to commence mutual fund (MF) operations. The company will conduct these operations through its asset management arm, Nuvama Asset Management Ltd.

Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh and Bihar CM Samrat Choudhary have launched an Integrated Aqua Park at the Vanasaur Fish Seed Farm in Bhojpur, developed with an investment of ₹31.21 crore under the PM Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY).

They also inaugurated the Regional Centre of the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) in Patna, which will serve as a knowledge and institutional hub for Bihar and the Eastern India region.

Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi and CM Samrat Choudhary laid the foundation stone for a Technology Centre in Khizarsarai, Gaya. The facility is being developed with a budget of ₹170 crore.

The union government has constituted a Search-cum Selection Committee for the National Sports Board. The committee is established under the National Sports Board (Search-cum Selection Committee) Rules, 2026, framed in accordance with the National Sports Governance Act, 2025.

The committee is chaired by Dr TV Somanathan. Its members include Hari Ranjan Rao, Lt General (Retd) Harpal Singh, and two National Sports Awardees, Gagan Narang and N Kunjurani Devi.

Vice President CP Radhakrishnan has released a book titled “Agatthiyar – The Unifier” at Uparashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

The book is authored by O Shama Bhatt and Dr. MN Sudha, with a Tamil translation by Professor Kalyani. It is published by Kalaimagal, the Tamil literary magazine.